555ideways

Hey guys,

A few of my buddies and I got a team together for the 2009 New England 24hrs of Lemons in Stafford Springs CT July 11th and 12th. The team is made up mostly of COM instructors. The idea originally came from our friend Carl who has been running an 86 FC into the ground for the past 10 years on tracks all over the the northeast. It has been through thousands of laps, overheating problems, engines, transmissions, uprights, etc, and now it's time for the poor bastard's last hoorah. What better way to send a beat track car to its grave - LeMons! I come from a background of STi's and FD's but I'm really looking forward to getting some good stints in the FC.

The good thing is the car already had a cage, seat, proper Mazda motor, pads, recent wheel bearings, etc. We took 2 sundays to make the car Lemons ready, from a plywood wing held up by a trunk strut - to radios, cool suits, and a power cutoff switch. We're all super excited. We've all done tons of track miles, but 4 out of 5 of the drivers have not done wheel to wheel racing. It should be pure mayhem, as there are over 50 cars going green on the tiny bullring that is Stafford Springs.

Come down and say hi. Should be a crazy event with lot's of grilling and drinking saturday night. I'll be in the red FC rx7! Wish me luck!

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

-Paddy

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

good stuff, Paddy. good luck. you should post up some pictures of the car.

AnthonyNYC

iTrader: (3)

Good Luck! A few of my friends did it last year and had a blast. They were telling me how they can chop your car in half etc if you do something stupid lol. They had a lot of fun. Man, I wanted to do it this year.

teknics

iTrader: (4)

i need to pickup a beater and give one of those rounds a shot, been reading about them on jalopnik.com a lot.

kevin.

555ideways

Only one I have so far!

Mazdax605

iTrader: (5)

Hey Paddy, I think I am giving you a set of springs,and shocks for your Lemons car. My friend Chuck is friends with Carl,and through him I am giving up a the rear springs,and shocks from my parts car. If so good luck,and beat the **** out of that car. The springs should be coming out tomorrow,and coming your way shortly after. I plan on going to the event if I am not camping that week.


Chris

555ideways

I think you're right Chris - Thanks a million. Carl had some coilovers on the car and pulled them off to pass BS tech inspection. Nothing worse than starting 50 laps back at the green flag for cheating. Everything is going back to stock

The only thing I'm nervous of is overheating. If it's a warm day we might really be in trouble. Our radiator is nothing special if anyone has any leads on a nice big radiator I'd be interested. We only need it for a few days.

Definitely come and hang out. Saturday night will be awesome I think. Racing under the lights until 10pm and then a huge BBQ till who knows. We have a fun group doing the race and a good few friends showing up to watch the fun and help out. More the merrier.



-Paddy

Mazdax605

iTrader: (5)

Springs,and shocks are out of my parts car,and should be on the way to Mark in a few days. I guess he is in PA right now. If I go it will be on Saturday,as my wife works on Sunday.

Mazdax605

iTrader: (5)

Hey Paddy you get the springs yet?

555ideways

Yup, the owner has them! Thank you! The car was at a 2 day track event at NHMS today and yesterday. It was a good chance to test the original suspension and see how the car handled. In the morning it was pushing on the corner entry and oversteering on the way out. Pretty much worse case scenario. We worked through the day making changes and finally found the balance. We ordered a new set of Hankook RS2's just for this event and had them mounted for this "test." They were really uninspiring in the dry and CRAP in the wet. Meh well. I hope they get us through the full 15hr race. (The CT event is only 15hrs - not a true 24hr) THe Hawk HT-10 front pads are a bit much for these tires. It's very easy to lock the front brakes and it takes very little pedal pressure to slow the car. It will be manageable, and they'll get us through the race for sure. Better too much brake than not enough I suppose.

Car was running very cool all day in the 65 degree weather. We'll see how she does in the hotter weather that is forecasted for the race. Radio system works great, cool suit is all setup, and the motor is running well. The transmission was tough to get into 3rd, so we'll do a last minute change to a gearbox we know is solid tomorrow night. Then we pack up Friday for a noon start on Saturday!

-Paddy

Mazdax605

iTrader: (5)

I gave Chuck the spare NA tranny I had in the parts car as well. I know it to be a good trans if you need one,and he is willing to donate it to the team which I am sure he will.

I hope to come out on Saturday,and I will try to meet you if I can.

Chris

555ideways

Wow shocks and now a trans! We're all set however, we have a perfect trans at the garage waiting to be lifted in for the weekend. The owner has a BUNCH of spares i guess.

Come down and grab a burger and a beer for sure!

Morondongon

How did the race go? Is there a link to the race that we can see?